Gabbidon handed FA charge

West Ham defender Danny Gabbidon has been handed an 'improper conduct' charge by the Football Association following comments posted on his Twitter account.

Gabbidon posted a foul-mouthed message in the wake of his side's 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa on April 16 and has since closed down his account.

The FA confirmed they had charged Gabbidon for his comments in a statement on Thursday evening. "West Ham United defender Daniel Gabbidon has been charged with Improper Conduct and/or bringing the game into disrepute by The FA," the statement said.

"The charge follows media comments made on Twitter on 16 April 2011."

Gabbidon's comments came just over a week after team-mate Carlton Cole was sanctioned by the FA for comments he made on Twitter about Ghana fans during their friendly against England.

Cole was also charged with improper conduct and fined £20,000 as well as being warned about his future conduct. Gabbidon has until 4pm on May 4 to respond to the charge.

Meanwhile, Cole has admitted West Ham need "juggernaut" midfielder Scott Parker back in order to bolster their Barclays Premier League survival battle. Football Writers Association footballer of the year Parker looks likely to miss Sunday's trip to Manchester City and is battling to be fit for the final three games of the season.

"Scotty is one of those players that is a leading player on the pitch, he leads by example, he will say how he feels," Cole told his club's official website, www.whufc.com.

"Scotty won't shy away from anything, from a challenge, those are the sort of characters you need in your team. Especially when we are fighting relegation as well, Scotty as a player and a person is someone who will always stand up and be counted.

"Any accolade he gets, any pat on the backs, Scotty deserves. That is how I look at it. I hold him highly up there as one of the best players in the league at the moment. For the last three years, as soon as he got over the niggly injuries he had when he was first here, once he started getting momentum, he has not stopped. He is like a juggernaut."